White House: GOP rehashing Romney plan

WASHINGTON, April 7 (UPI) -- A White House adviser said President Obama would not accept a new Republican economic plan he called a rehash of a strategy that was rejected by the voters.

Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday the pending proposal from the House of Representatives was basically the same strategy put forward by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who lost his November bid to oust Obama.

"What the president will not do is come in right after getting re-elected and enact the Romney economic plan, which is what the Republicans in the House are proposing," Pfeiffer said on ABC's "This Week."

Pfeiffer said the White House was sticking to its guns of opposing cuts to vital social programs and pushing for tax increases on upper-income taxpayers. He said there would be no deal on entitlement cuts without "closing tax loopholes that benefit the wealthiest" and safeguarding senior citizens.

The GOP has countered they had already agreed to enough in the way of revenue increases and were now insisting the White House and congressional Democrats reciprocate with meaningful spending cuts.

Pfeiffer also said Obama would continue to press for stricter background checks for gun buyers.

Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Pfeiffer said Obama knew from the start proposals to limit the availability of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines would probably be rejected by Congress, but called for them anyway because the public was solidly behind the idea of reining in access to such weapons.

"You cannot get 90 percent of the people to agree on the weather," Pfeiffer told Fox. "The question is whether Congress is going to do the right thing."

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